1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a system for displaying audiovisual programs to a viewer, and more particularly, to a system and method for displaying audiovisual programs of interest to the viewer.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional audiovisual system for receiving and displaying audiovisual programs includes a set-top box connectable to a display device, such as a monitor or a television (TV) set. The set-top box is connected to a multiple-service operator (MSO), such as a cable TV network or a satellite TV system, which provides audiovisual programs to be viewed. The TV set and the set-top box are located, for example, in a viewer's home and receive a multitude of TV channels from a broadcast head end, wherein each TV channel has a multitude of audiovisual programs during a typical day. In order to select and watch a certain audiovisual program, the viewer usually uses a remote control interface to control at least the set-top box to tune to a desired channel. The display device receives an audiovisual program of the desired channel from the set-top box and displays the audiovisual program as it is received from the broadcast head end to the viewer.
A viewer can expand the audiovisual system described above by connecting a video recorder between the display device and the set-top box to record an audiovisual program and view it at a later time which is more convenient for the viewer. Thus, the viewer's television viewing can be personalized by overcoming the rigid broadcast time schedules for the audiovisual programs. The video recorder may be a digital video recorder that includes a hard disk drive with a storage capacity of between approximately 10 GB and 30 GB for recording up to approximately thirty hours of audiovisual programs.
In addition to using a video recorder, alternative audiovisual systems provide for even more flexibility and viewer-specific viewing options. For example, digital video recorders (also referred to as personal video recorders, or PVRs) offered by Replay Networks (in combination with the ReplayTV service) and by Philips (in combination with the TiVo service) allow personalization of the viewer's television viewing. For example, the PVR can effectively anticipate which audiovisual programs are of interest to the viewer by tracking various characteristics of the audiovisual programs preferred by the viewer, and automatically record subsequently broadcasted audiovisual programs which have these characteristics. In addition, the PVR provides the capability of responding to user input by pausing the display of an audiovisual program being viewed as it is received from the broadcast head end (i.e., live TV), and by recording the audiovisual program for later viewing. For example, when the viewer is interrupted from viewing live TV, the viewer can pause and record the audiovisual program, then resume viewing the audiovisual program later exactly where the viewer left off.
The number of channels and audiovisual programs available to viewers is continually increasing beyond levels which viewers are able to track and select for viewing. Conventional systems enable viewers to receive hundreds of channels, including premium subscription channels, pay-per-view services, or video-on-demand services. Viewers using conventional systems must repeatably reference program guide information, making multiple decisions as to which audiovisual programs to watch, and multiple manual changes of channels during a viewing session to continue to watch audiovisual programs of interest to the viewer. There is therefore a need to improve upon the prior art technique for presenting information regarding the available audiovisual programming to the viewer so that it is more likely that the viewer can watch audiovisual programs of interest.